By Libby Humphries, Environmental Educator This time of year, Door County is a-flower with golden Alexander, red columbine, and lupine (oh my!). Equally as prevalent during this time are the pollinators who depend on them to survive. This pollinator week (June 17-23), we’re celebrating the animals that are responsible for the reproduction of approximately 90% [..Read more]
By Dan Scheiman, Visitor Engagement Specialist During this past spring migration upwards of 3.5 billion birds were winging their way northwards (and even more will be flying in the fall when young-of-the-year are added). Migration is a hazardous time for birds, exposing them to all sorts of direct dangers such as predators, pollution, and bad [..Read more]
Ridges Educators work relentlessly to bring quality Forest Days programming to Gibraltar students in grades K-6. Forest Days are designed to bring students outside and into their local forest for place-based environmental education. Forest Day lesson topics include the carbon cycle, patterns in nature, the role of decomposers in the forest, food webs, and other [..Read more]
The April 2024 Giving Circle presented $31,000 for a grand total of $565,000 awarded to 57 unique nonprofits since July 2018. Press Release issued by 100+Women Who Care Door County – April 30, 2024 100+ Women Who Care Door County (100+WWC) Giving Circle continues its philanthropic platform to provide financial support to nonprofits of Door [..Read more]
By Libby Humphries, WisCorps Environmental Educator When I was a child growing up in the metro-Atlanta area, my public education was greatly limited to the confines of a brick-and-mortar building. Tales of plate tectonics and photosynthesis were recited like oral tradition, with only illustrations in textbooks to supplement my teachers’ words. Learning about these real-life [..Read more]
By Jackie Rath, Program Coordinator On most weekdays around noon, Ridges staff make their way to the center table in the back offices to eat lunch. While this routine might feel repetitive, the conversations from these gatherings are anything but. Around this table, I have learned so much from my coworkers through their fascinations and [..Read more]
Published by Peninsula Pulse, Craig Sterrett – March 14th, 2024 A crew’s careful tree-cutting operation near the historic Baileys Harbor Range Lights served two restorative purposes, leaders at The Ridges Sanctuary said. During a narrow window of cold temperatures and snow cover this winter, workers cut and removed trees and brush without harming the fragile [..Read more]
By Dan Scheiman, Visitor Engagement Specialist During this mild El Niño winter, it feels like spring is just around the corner here in Door County, and it certainly is according to the calendar, if not according to phenologies such as bud burst and frost-free days. Birds’ annual cycles are better defined as breeding, non-breeding, and [..Read more]
Published by Door County Pulse – February 15th, 2024 To raise awareness in the community on how to protect Wisconsin’s owl species, The Ridges Sanctuary will host its annual Owl-O-Rama on March 1 and 2. The Owl Prowl on Friday, March 1, 6-8:30 pm, begins with a presentation at the Nature Center by Ridges Sanctuary [..Read more]
By Anna Foster, Director of Programming As we delight in above-average temperatures this January, it’s easy to forget how the warmer days occurring now could impact what Lake Michigan looks like next summer. While we’re complaining about the lack of ice fishing and snowmobiling (or, in my case, snowshoeing), we don’t often consider how this [..Read more]
